A day of baseball (and a hamburger...oops)

So, it's currently 11pm and Matt and I recently got home from an entire day filled with baseball. John (my younger brother) is a freshman in college and is a left handed pitcher for the university's baseball team. Today was the team's annual "meet and greet" followed by a scrimmage between the team members. You would think that feeding a Division I baseball team and families would mean a semi-healthy meal, but no. We had to choose from the following on the buffet table: hot dogs, hamburgers (beef), iceberg lettuce, tomato, relish, mayo, mustard, potato chips, cookies, and cupcakes. Since I definitely did not feel like eating iceberg lettuce on a white bread bun, I opted for the hamburger (with chips and a cookie...oops). Needless to say, this is not part of our new "less meat, dairy and processed foods" food habit. Kudos to Matt for choosing lettuce, tomato and relish on bread. Regardless, I couldn't say "screw the rest of the day's diet"... and I ended up having the following at the local McAlister's for dinner: avocado, cucumber,  lettuce, onions on wheat bread with a fruit cup. That was delicious, but I miss our "home cooked" meals already!

Anyway, my whole point in writing this (besides noting the accidental hamburger), was my desire to teach my younger brother a little more about nutrition. He lifts weights and does cardio on a regular basis, and also (to my knowledge) tries to supplement his diet with extra protein to build muscle. I know this is a common practice among top-performing athletes, but I have a different opinion on health with my recently-acquired nutrition knowledge. Disclaimer: I know that the internet and a few chapters in my nutrition class textbook don't make me an expert on nutrition, but hear me out. I think there is a lot to be said about eating a "mainly plant-based" diet. No, this doesn't mean cut out meat and dairy completely. It means keeping meat and dairy to a minimum (and by minimum, I don't mean 1 piece of chicken per day - I mean a couple of pieces per week or month). Again, I *personally* haven't done the research, but I've read a lot of studies from folks who have. Here's a summary of what I'm learning:

• The Standard American Diet (S.A.D....how ironic) is full of processed foods, too much animal protein, and not enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Meat is not the only source of protein 
• interesting fact: average chicken breast has 42g of protein, 2 cups of pinto beans = 40g, 1 cup of tofu = 40g
• Let's say you're choosing between chicken and beans for your dinner protein. Although the protein content may be equal, the cholesterol, fat, fiber, caloric, etc. content is not equal. Chicken has more much more cholesterol (0 in beans), calories, fat and much less fiber. And you're not even considering that the live chicken may have been fed a crappy diet of who knows what, with growth hormones. Something to think about...
• Dairy is not that great for you. In fact, it's pretty bad for you.
• Do some research on the history of dairy promotion (esp. milk) in the United States. It's highly political and very unfortunate. You might be shocked at what you learn.
• Dairy is awful for sinus problems - it basically magnifies any sinus issues you have (I can personally vouch for this)
• Dairy can aggravate a range of health problems, including asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, and allergies. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/ 
• Supplements/vitamins are not a replacement for whole foods
• There are so many beneficial components in foods that doctors and scientists don't even know about yet (and if they knew about the good things, the scientists probably couldn't replicate them). Example: apples have vitamin C and fiber, but skipping the apple and taking a vitamin C supplement and eating a Fiber One bar do not and will not replace the apple. Phytochemicals ("phyto" meaning plant) are naturally-occurring chemical compounds found in plants. Do you think you can get this from a pill? Absolutely not.

Re-reading what I just wrote, I realize that it is pretty scattered/unstructured. I'll try to be better about this with future posts, but please be patient...this stuff is exciting to me! I want to write everything I learn in every blog...but I must wait.

Some future topics I hope to cover (for your reference and mine):

• Benefits (and my personal experience with) apple cider vinegar + honey
• Nutrition and the prevention (or reversal) of chronic diseases (my blog will likely focus on heart health)
• Diet and skin health

That's all for now! :) 

About a week in...

So, we officially started our "diet" (lifestyle change of eating) on Monday. Here are a few things we've had since we cut out meat and dairy:

French toast (whole wheat bread dipped in mixture of banana, cinnamon, soy milk, and vanilla extract)

Brown rice w/black and pinto beans, guacamole, salsa (Newman's), and blue corn chips

Whole wheat pasta shells w/Classico sauce - added squash, onions, peppers, garlic, mushrooms

Dessert :) Vanilla soy milk w/blue, black, and raspberries

Our sweet Cuisinart hand blender (super easy cleanup!) 

Honestly, the biggest challenge for me is not eating cheese. I LOVE cheese...but I've noticed a huge difference already in 2 things. Since I can remember, I've had eczema on my skin - this seems to disappear when I stop eating dairy. Also (sorry for TMI), I have SO much less congestion. Normally during this time of the year, I wake up every morning with nasty sinuses. Since cutting out dairy, it has definitely not been as bad. I'm excited to see what else gets better as my diet cleans up!

Here we go!

Well, I've started a few blogs in the past that I ended up deleting. This is probably because I'm an okay "business" writer, but definitely lack when it comes to writing attention-grabbing, super detailed accounts of my own life. :) Anyway, this blog is going to be dedicated solely to health and wellness. I plan to record yummy recipes that we discover, articles that I think are beneficial to share, and anything else health-related that can help folks better their well-being. By the way, I currently work in Human Resources, specifically in Benefits and Wellness - this is where I discovered my passion for wellness. When I say wellness, I'm not talking entirely about weight, BMI, cholesterol, etc. That's a large part of it, but wellness encompasses so much more than physical health. Mental and spiritual health are equally as important. If one's not right, the other two won't function at 100%.

So, here's the spark behind me starting this blog: finally, we [Matt and I] have decided to get serious about our health. We're starting to really put thought into what we feed our bodies. Since my sophomore year in high school, I've said "I'm going to lose weight this year"...and it hasn't happened yet. Yes, I've developed some good habits over the past few years (drinking mainly water, snacking on almonds, trading white for wheat bread, etc.), but I haven't kicked enough of the bad ones. Until recently, we probably cooked at home an average of 4 nights per week. That's 3 nights of going out to eat at a restaurant or fast food. Yikes.

Anyway, long story short - we're slowly transitioning our diets to be mainly plant-based. No, we're not trying to be 100% vegetarian or 100% vegan, but mainly plant-based. This means less processed foods, dairy, and meat and more fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts and legumes (beans). It seems pretty simple, and I feel better already. I'll elaborate more later, but here's what we had for dinner tonight: brown rice (not instant), black beans, pinto beans, onions and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and water, guacamole and salsa with pita bread. The only seasonings I added to the rice, beans and veggies was black pepper, garlic powder, and a bit of cajun seasoning. And, it was delicious!! More later... :)

Oops - almost forgot: here's the (embarrassing) biometric results as of my last physical in October. I haven't changed much about my diet since then, so my numbers are roughly the same.
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 150 lbs
BMI: 26
Total cholesterol: 240
HDL: 72
LDL: 147